Sunbury parkrun celebrated its 300th run, celebrating seven years of the weekly social exercise event.
Marking the occasion on Saturday, November 9, Sunbury parkrun founder Natalie Harrison said that it was “hard to believe” that the group had completed 300 runs.
“Despite covid and lockdowns, it’s been great that we’ve been able to still continue and hopefully we continue for many years to come,” Ms Harrison said.
“It’s a good social event, it’s good for mental health. It’s a good way of getting fit and healthy. But the main thing is that it’s a way of getting the community together. It also attracts tourists, so we get people from all over Melbourne, interstate and overseas,” she said.
“Because we’ve been going for seven years, it’s a good little community, and I’ve actually met a lot of my current running friends from parkrun.”
Ms Harrison said before Sunbury parkrun, she had previously been a regular attendee of the Maribyrnong parkrun, deciding to establish a Sunbury group with the help of parkrun Australia.
“The main thing I saw about it was that it’s free, it’s for everyone, you don’t have to be a runner, you can walk, you can bring your dog, you can bring a pram,” she said.
“We haven’t been able to do this without our volunteers who help each week … we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for … our community who volunteer and put their hand up.”
The volunteer team also consists of a group of run directors, who oversee safety and proceedings
The Sunbury parkrun is also celebrating its 7th birthday this Saturday, November 23 from 7.50am at The Nook in Sunbury, with a food and coffee truck provided by disability services and support organisation Distinctive Options Sunbury.
Oscar Parry
